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 "Meditation"

  Guitar Lesson by Steven Herron - press "Play"
Play Pause Stop 

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Dear Advancing Guitarist,

     For the March Guitar Lesson of the Month, we will be working on a fingerstyle solo of "Meditation" by Antonio Carlos Jobim and arranged by Mike Christiansen.  This song is from the book/CD called "Brazilian Jazz Guitar" by Mike Christiansen and John Zaradin.  It is written in standard notation as well as the popular Tab format whereby each line on the staff represents a guitar string. The highest line of the staff towards the top of the page represents the 1st string or the highest pitched string of the guitar, while the lowest line of the staff represents the 6th string or the lowest pitched string of the guitar. The numbers on the various lines tell you what fret to press down on that particular string.  So if you have the number "2" on the highest line of the staff, it is telling you to press down the 2nd fret on the first string of your guitar. You will also notice that due to copyright restrictions, I am only presenting the first page of the song. Here is the book description from our website:

Mike Christiansen - Brazilian Jazz Guitar - Book and CD. Arranged by Mike Christiansen and
John Zaradin. This book contains a complete solo guitar arrangement, lead sheet and comping etude for each
song.  Songs include: "A Day In the Life of a Fool, Chega de Saudade, Desafinado, A Felicidade, Gentle Rain,
The Girl From Ipanema, How Insensitive, Meditation, One Note Samba, Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars, Sabia, So
Nice, The Island". Notation, tab and lyrics / Fingerstyle........Price - $19.95

    You will notice the traditional classical guitar notation for the right hand is indicated throughout the piece.  P is the thumb, I is the index finger, M is the middle finger, and A is the ring finger. Be sure to follow the right hand fingerings I have written in throughout the entire piece very carefully and do them exactly as I indicate. This arrangement is a good example of Bossa Nova guitar fingerings.  Hopefully you have read the report I sent to you recently that talked about analyzing a piece of music one measure at a time by visualizing the left and right hand fingerings in your "mind's eye". If you haven't, here is a link to that page-->www.chordmelody.com/newpage110.htm

    "Meditation" is played in 4/4 time, which means that there are 4 beats per measure and a quarter note gets 1 beat, a half-note gets 2 beats, while an eighth note gets 1/2 a beat.  This piece is in the key of C major which means that all of the notes are natural unless otherwise indicated. The left hand fingerings are beside the actual notes in hopes that some of you will actually start to memorize the notes instead of just reading the tab. Wouldn't it be nice to actually be able to read music like a professional musician? Well here's your chance to start.
  
      I play this piece "free stroke", which means that after one of my right hand fingers strikes a string, it clears the other strings and follows through into the back of the palm of my hand. This whole technique /idea of "follow through" is critical to getting the maximum amount of volume and projection from each note that you play.  It will also enable you to get a fuller tone out of your notes. Try to keep your right hand wrist slightly arched and elevated so there are 3-4 inches of clearance between the face of the guitar and your wrist.  Keep your right hand wrist straight at all times. This alone will probably help you avoid tendonitis and carpal tunnel syndrome. Strive to keep your right hand fingers as straight as possible so that you are moving them mainly from the knuckle joint instead of the middle joint, like most guitarists do. This way you're using the muscles of your entire finger instead of just half of your finger.
 
    Some other critical right hand tips are: play on the left side of your fingertips where the flesh and the nail meet each other. There's only one spot where this happens and it will feel like there's very little resistance at that point. Your tone will also be as good as possible at that point of impact. Also, you want to keep your fingertip segments relaxed and flexible so that they give or bend backwards as they strike the string, thereby absorbing the impact of hitting a stationary object without hooking or snagging. This whole idea of relaxation is trained as it is definitely people's natural tendency to tense up their entire body when they are trying to play guitar. The only way you will ever become as proficient as you can personally be, is to eliminate all tension from your hands and fingers as well as your arms and shoulders or for that matter, your entire body. According to the theory of muscular interaction, if there is tension anywhere in your body, it will affect your hands and fingers to a certain extent.

    There are only 2 tendons in your right hand that control all of your fingers. Your index finger and your thumb are connected to 1 of them, while your middle, ring, and little fingers are connected to the other one. Keeping this in mind, let's work on a finger alternation exercise. I want you to alternate your index and middle fingers back and forth on the 1st string of your guitar, making sure that each finger follows through into the back of the palm of your hand after it strikes the string. Since your thumb and your index finger are connected to the same tendon, you'll probably find that your thumb tenses up and moves around when your index finger strikes the string. You'll just have to practice this enough that you can get the 2 of them independent and separated from each other. Since your middle, ring, and little fingers are connected to the same tendon, when your middle finger strikes the string you would want all 3 of them to move together in the same direction - almost as if they were tied together with a string. If they are relaxed their natural tendency would be to move as 1 group. Also, when you are alternating your index and middle fingers you want to get them to "directly alternate". This means as 1 finger is going back into the palm of your hand, the other finger is coming out of the palm of your hand and moving into position to strike the next note. This way you are always lined up ahead of time for the next note.  "Direct alternation" is the only way you will ever be able to play single note passages fast and fluently. Train your fingers to be about 1/8th of an inch above and 1/8th of an inch in front of the string they are about to play. This will not only help your accuracy, but will also improve the tone of each note.  In other words, you are always striving to keep your fingers so close to the string, prior to striking the string, that they almost touch the string before they strike it.

    Your left hand wrist should be straight and slightly arched with the wrist itself being directly underneath the guitar neck. Your thumb should stay in the middle of the back of the guitar neck, opposite the first (index) finger of your left hand.  Keep your thumb perfectly straight - bending your thumb is just another tension habit that should be avoided at all costs. Your thumb will contact the back of the neck slightly on it's left side.  Keep your left hand fingers arched and play on your fingertips, close to the fingernails so that you are directly on top of the string. All of these technique- pointers usually take months of focused thought to get them to be habits. So be patient and read these pointers at the beginning of each practice session.

     I strongly urge you to work your way through a good series of classical guitar method books such as the ones on the "Classical" page of our website by Aaron Shearer, who was my teacher when I went to Peabody Conservatory of Music or the series by Frederick Noad. Both are excellent, graded methods that will help you become a more confident, knowledgeable classical/fingerstyle guitarist. I also enthusiastically recommend the series of classical guitar DVDs by Frederick Hand and the book/DVD by Scott Tennant called "Pumping Nylon". There's a lot to be said for being able to watch someone demonstrate all of the subtle nuances involved with playing good classical /fingerstyle guitar.  You will never be sorry if you take the time to learn how to read music (standard notation), which is much more descriptive, as far as subtle nuances are concerned, than tab notation is.  This skill will enable you to not just be a guitarist, but a musician as well. Link to ->Classical Page  We also have numerous collections of Bossa Nova book/CDs, and DVDs, on the Brazilian page of our website.


                                                                                     Warm Regards,

                                                                                                         Steven Herron

P.S.  As promised, I've included at the end of the arrangement, about a dozen of my favorite Bossa Nova and Brazilian guitar books and DVDs that we have just received. I think you'll want to take a look at these - I've had some fun with some of these myself!

P.P.S.  Let me say that these guitar lessons are not meant to take the place of a good teacher, instructional video or book/CD.  If you are truly serious about becoming a better guitarist, eliminating the chance of developing bad habits and saving yourself hundreds of hours of frustration and wasted time, I would recommend that you set aside a regular monthly allowance to devote towards furthering your skills and education. You could take private guitar lessons ($70 - $80 per month) or you could purchase a new book/CD or instructional video each month ($20 - $40).  I find it strange that many aspiring guitarists will spend $100's or even $1000's on a new guitar and then turn around and spend only $20 - $40 on a book or instructional video - thinking that this is all they will ever need to master the guitar.  Good instruction, whether it is from a teacher or from the many superb instructional books and videos that are available, will give you an excellent chance of succeeding and reaching your goal of becoming a good guitarist or even a great guitarist!

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